1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a representative image providing system and a representative image providing method for providing the surface of a recording medium such as a DVD-R on which pieces of image data are recorded with representative images respectively representing the pieces of image data recorded on the recording medium, and a computer program for causing a computer to execute the representative image providing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Prints printed from silver-salt photographic film have been employed for various purposes such as to check the conditions of photos, to show the prints to user's friends to communicate with them, to enlarge the photos for decoration, to apply them to an album, or the like. However, the prints printed from silver-salt photographic film is disadvantageous in that they soon form a mass when ordering is neglected and it is difficult to search for a desired one or to make additional copies of a desired one in the mass. Especially, when prints have formed a mass, since the prints are generally disorderly arranged without taking into account the order of photographing, ordering of the prints becomes harder.
If ordering is frequently done, application of the prints may be facilitated. However, classification of a mass of prints by the order of photographing or theme takes a very long time. Further, even if the prints are ordered and applied to an album, it is difficult for the prints to be enjoyed by many people or by remote people since usually the album is only one.
Further, when ordering of prints is neglected, not only the prints but also the negatives form a mass. In such a case, the negatives are frequently left as they are, and even if ordering of prints is carried out, the negatives are frequently disorderly stored in a box or a bag. Further as the user or the photographer ages, and his or her family becomes large due to his or her children or grandchildren, prints or negatives increase at a high rate, and accordingly, when ordering is neglected, a very large mass of prints or negatives is left. Prints or negatives are seldom discarded since additional prints and/or negatives cannot be printed if prints or negatives are once disposed, and accordingly, many families are now in a difficulty with how to order prints and/or negatives or where prints and/or negatives are to be placed.
There has been proposed a photo service system where the images recorded on the negatives or the prints are read out by an image reading unit such as a scanner, and image data representing the images is stored in a recording medium such as a CD-R so that the images can be enjoyed through a reproduction system such as a personal computer or can be output as a print in response to user's request. (See, for instance, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 10(1998)-150538 or 10(1998)-150541. Further, there has been proposed a network photo service system where image data is transferred to an image storage server, which stores image data, by way of a network such as the internet so that the images can be enjoyed through a terminal unit remote from the image server or variously processed according to the print orders or the like. See, for instance, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11(1999)-154218.
However, in the image storage system described above, since the step of developing and printing the negatives involves reading the images recorded on the negatives and storing the obtained image data by film rolls, work of linking the customer who requested storage of the image data with each film roll is troublesome. Further, since in the system, images are only read from negatives and stored, when images are read from a vast amount of negatives or prints left in the home, a very large mass of image data comes to be stored without ordering. In this case, the very large mass of image data must be ordered by the customer himself or herself who has accessed the image storage server and the work is very troublesome as the order of prints or negatives, whereby the system is very inconvenient to use.
Accordingly, there is proposed, as disclosed, for instance, in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20030151767, a photo-mining service system where image data is obtained from a recording medium such as prints or photographic film on which images are recorded and the obtained image data is stored linked with recording medium information representing the recording medium from which the image data is obtained customer by customer on the basis of customer information. With this system, the customer can refer to a vast amount of negatives or prints, which have been left in a mass in his or her home, in a state ordered on the basis of the recording medium information by only requesting reading of images to a shop.
In the system disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20030151767, it is conceivable to provide to the customer a recording medium such as a DVD-R on which image data representing images obtained by read-out is recorded. At this time, it is possible to generate image data in a slide show format on the basis of the image data and record it on the recording medium together with the image data. With this, the customer can enjoy a slide show through his or her DVD player as well as to enjoy the image represented by the image data through a terminal unit such as a personal computer.
Whereas, one sometimes wants to deliver image data recorded on a recording medium to others. For example, parents want to deliver their child images related to the child out of the images recorded on a recording medium when the child marries. In such a case, the parents will deliver the recording medium to a shop and the shop reads out from the recording medium image data including the name of the child in the comment attached thereto on the basis of the comments attached to the image data and records the image data read out and image data in a slide show format on a new recording medium.
When the customer repeats the order for photo-mining service, he or she comes to possess a plurality of recording media. In this case, the customer delivers the plurality of recording media to a shop and the shop reads out from the recording media image data including the name of the child in the comment attached thereto on the basis of the comments attached to the image data and records the image data read out on a new recording medium.
Further, there has been put into practice to provide the surface of a recording medium with representative images respectively representing the pieces of image data recorded on the recording medium. With this arrangement, by viewing the surface of the recording medium, what kinds of image data are recorded on the recording medium can be known.
When providing the surface of a recording medium with representative images respectively representing the pieces of image data recorded on the recording medium, it is preferred that all the representative images on the original recording media be provided on the surface of the new recording medium together with the representative images for the image data recorded on the new recording medium. When a recording medium on which desired image data or desired animation data is recorded is searched for among a plurality of recording media on which a large number of pieces of image data are recorded, it is preferred that approximate period at which the desired image data is obtained be easily known. However, since the surface of the recording medium is limited in size, it is difficult to provide all the representative images on the original recording media and the representative images for the image data recorded on the new recording medium on the surface of the new recording medium.